Spate · Granite · South West / Kerry, IE

Caragh

The Caragh River winding through a green valley on the Ring of Kerry, County Kerry, Ireland.

A picturesque spate river in Kerry that rises in the McGillycuddy Reeks and enters Dingle Bay via Caragh Lake (Lough Caragh).

Today · Closed season
Wickham's Fancy
Forecast · Today
Closed season
Out of season. File this water for the right month.
40% projected
Today's fly
Wickham's Fancy
Wickham's Fancy
Conditions on the water · Today
Proxy gauge
Level
Rising
Proxy
via Laune
Water temp9.0°C
ClarityUnfishable
Weather10°C
WindN 28 km/h
Pressure1005 hPa
Rain · recent18.8 mm
Rain · ahead8.7 mm

No gauge on this water — conditions are inferred from Laune. The trend transfers, the absolute level does not.

Water temperature for Atlantic Salmon
Cool — slow
9°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Atlantic Salmon
When
Spring run from late March; grilse from June; main run summer. The Caragh is a Kerry spate river above Lough Caragh — fish the river or the lough drifts as conditions favour.
Where
Caragh river beats and Lough Caragh drift water. Heads, tails, and named lies on the river; drift lines on the lough.
Method
Small doubles 10 to 12 across-and-down on a floating line; small tubes on a sink-tip in spring water. Catch-and-release encouraged across most Irish salmon water.
Kit
10 ft #7 single-hander on the smaller spate rivers; 11 ft switch where the river opens out. Floating line plus light sink-tip. 10 to 12 lb fluoro tippet.
Likely species
Stoneflies
Hatch timeline · todayPeak at 11am

12pm(now) — Autumn Needle Fly

Stage: Creeping nymphsApproach: Heavy nymphActivity: 36%
Also:Autumn Olive24%
Peak emergence window4 food groups active

Peak activity at 11am — Autumn Needle Fly (Autumn Needle Fly, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Supporters see what else is on the menu.

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Evidence
Survey-backed · regionalHigh confidence

Backed by regional invertebrate surveys; no sampling on this exact reach yet.

Through the year
0–3 scale · November highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Salmon runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
Sea trout runRun
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
March BrownHatch
2
3
2
CapererHatch
2
3
3
2
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Autumn DunHatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Atlantic Salmon fly box

Munster Blackwater and neighbouring SW spring rivers: when the water is cold or running high, a tube fly fished deep on a Skagit head or sinking shooting head with a heavier leader finds fish that a floating line can't reach. Comes down to a 9'-10' single-handed rod and small flies on an 8lb tippet once the river drops into summer trim.

Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • IFI rod licence (RoI)
  • Beats managed by local association; day tickets typically €20–€40
  • Excellent accessibility from Killorglin
  • Connection to Caragh Lake (wild brown trout, sea-trout) provides multi-venue option.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 5
Laune
12 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
River Owenmore (Kerry)
18 km
0
Brown trout · Salmon · Sea trout
Cloonlaghlin Lough
18 km
0
Sea trout · Salmon
Lough Derriana
16 km
Sea trout · Salmon
Lough Namona
19 km
Sea trout · Salmon
Gallery · 2
  1. The Caragh River winding through a green valley on the Ring of Kerry, County Kerry, Ireland.
    The Caragh River flowing through the Ring of Kerry, County Kerry.
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The Caragh is a classic granite mountain river: responsive to rainfall (5–8 hours to peak), clear and technical, with excellent populations of wild brown trout and Atlantic salmon. Sea trout enter from late March/April onwards (earlier than most west-coast spate rivers), with grilse joining the run from June. The river feeds Caragh Lake, which is itself a destination for wild brown trout and sea-trout boat fishing. The Upper Caragh Fishery (~15 km from Bealalaw to Caragh Lake) has well-developed access — stiles, footbridges, anglers' huts on many beats. For 2026 this remains an open fishery — salmon may be retained in season under the Wild Salmon & Sea Trout Tagging Scheme and bag limits, with catch-and-release at other times.

Hatches & food

EPA freshwater monitoring on the Caragh confirms mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, aquatic diptera and freshwater crustaceans (shrimp and hoglice) are present across its monitored segments. This is riverbed food-presence evidence, not a record of adult emergence or a visible hatch.

  • Granite
Water quality (WFD)
  • Ecology: Good
  • Chemical: Good
Why this score · for Atlantic Salmon
  • Temperature10030% weight
  • Flow6025% weight
  • Clarity9520% weight
  • Feeding Time1515% weight
  • Pressure8510% weight
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Salmon 17 January → 30 September
  • Sea trout 1 February → 12 October
Related guides
Atlantic Salmonsalmon tacticsIrish Salmon Rivers Guidefive great salmon fisheriesConnemaraIrish fishing
Casting instructors near here
Booking & contacts
At a glance

Caragh is a spate river in South West / Kerry, Ireland. Its recorded elevation is about 39 m above sea level and the catchment geology is granite. The river is described as roughly 22 km long. Our data lists brown trout, salmon and sea trout here. It is classed as a salmon river. The salmon season is recorded as running from 17 January to 30 September. The sea trout season is recorded as running from 1 February to 12 October. Best window recorded for anglers: June–August (grilse and sea trout); February–May (spring). Core methods listed: across and down wet fly (sink-tip); upstream nymph (technical pools); dry fly (grilse, summer evenings). Its Water Framework Directive ecological status is recorded as good. Nearby waters in our listings include Laune at 12 km, Lough Derriana at 16 km and River Owenmore (Kerry) at 18 km.